Mukhrino Field Station

Station name and owner

Mukhrino Field Station (https://mukhrinostation.com) was established as a part of the UNESCO chair Environmental dynamics and global climate change (EDCC) of Yugra State University in 2009. 

Location

Mukhrino Field Station is located in the central part of West Siberia, middle taiga biogeographic zone, 30 km to the south-west from Khanty-Mansiysk, on the left Irtysh River bank near the peatland Mukhrino. Geographic coordinates: 60.8889N, 68.7026E (https://goo.gl/maps/SHfW6LHgb6Q2).

Biodiversity and natural environment

Due to the severe continental climate, the environmental conditions in the regiona are comparable with the sub-arctic zone of Northern Europe. The research site is representative for the Western Siberian pristine carbon accumulating peatland ecosystem (plain mires). The mires cover c. 60 % of the land surface and can be regarded as important sources/sinks of greenhouse gases and aerosols. The main mire type of the site is raised bogs of the type “Pine-dwarf shrubs-Sphagnum” (“ryam”) characterised by pine trees, Ledum palustre and other dwarf shrubs with dominating Sphagnum fuscum. Interspersed are mires of the type “Graminoid-Sphagnum type” dominated by Carex limosa, Scheuchzeria palustris and other graminoids, and Sphagnum balticum. Also ridge-hollow complexes, consisting of bog ridges and sphagnum lawns are present.

History and facilities

Mukhrino Field Station was established in 2009. It is equipped with modern facilities allowing conducting year-round long-term scientific research, scientific excursions,  workshops, symposia and other events at national and international level.
It has a two-storey wooden building with study/laboratory rooms, beds for 14 persons, a simple dining room with kitchen, and a Russian sauna. The experimental field is equipped with 1.5 km long walking boards, which cross the main mire ecosystem types and facilitate researcher’s access to perform experiments and measurements in and above the mires, without disturbing the ecosystems. In the centre of the field site, an equipment shelter has been built. Distributed across the field site are clusters of thermologgers, water level recorders, automatic chambers for measurements of greenhouse gas fluxes and Eddy Covariance tower for measurements of CH₄ and CO₂.

General research and databases

The station was primarily established for studies of the biodiversity (fauna, vegetation, mycology, bryology) and hydrology of the mire ecosystems, of the carbon storage in the peat layers, and for measurements of greenhouse gas fluxes to and from the pristine peatland complex, located next to the field station. The station is also used for analyses of Climate Change effects in peatland ecosystems and carbon balance, and the spatial comparison of key areas in S-N transects (57-67° N) as an analogue for Climate Change over time. The station houses specialists in vegetation science, remote sensing, mycology, hydrology, and greenhouse gas emission measurements. The Mukhrino Field Station welcomes foreign and national researchers for collaboration, research and educational purposes.
Mukhrino FS offers open and free access to different environmental data collected at the station, see more about databases and other available data at: (https://mukhrinostation.com/virtual-access).

Human dimension

MFS is located 30 km to the south-west from Khanty-Mansiysk (100 000 inhabitants). Near the station, a limited number of local people, mostly from Khanty-Mansiysk town, can be met while fishing in the rivers and lakes. Hunting is mainly a winter activity using snowmobiles. The wider area is part of oil/gas extraction area, a newly built road to the oil extraction site goes around the station at a 3 km distance.

Access

MFS is a remote station without road access. It is reached by different off-road vehicles or on foot depending on the season. There is a walking path (8 km long) going from the nearest road (highway Khanty-Mansiysk – Nyagan) to the station, which is used in the late summer and autumn. The season with high water lever (May-June) obstructs walking but opens the water transport facilities: it takes about 40 minutes to reach the station from Khanty-Mansiysk by boat. The snowmobile vehicles are used to visit the station in winter. The is also an all-terrain vehicle (Argo) for field work in remote areas.
Access to the station: 1) by boat from the highway – 20 min, 2) by boat from Khanty-Mansiysk – 60 min, 3) on foot about 8 km, 2-3 hours, 4) by off-road vehicle and snowmobile – 30 min, 5) a new to-be constructed oilfield road.